A lot on their plate: Ensuring there’s enough to go around

By James Urquhart

How do you feed an extra 2 billion people within the next 35 years?

(Image: Abbas/Magnum Photos)

AS THE world’s population grows, so does its appetite. By 2050, there will be an estimated 9.6 billion mouths to feed around the globe – but we may not have the resources to meet that need. Current intensive farming practices rely on huge inputs of fossil fuels, land and water. They are also inefficient, unsustainable and damage the environment. But teams of plant biologists, animal scientists and veterinarians are working to change all that, with the aim of carving a path to a future in which no one goes hungry.